wrestling / Columns
The Shimmy 11.10.08: Forever Entwined
On the June 27, 2002 edition of SmackDown, Kurt Angle put out an open challenge. Inspired by Mr. McMahon’s decree that his superstars step up their game, Angle wanted to give himself the opportunity to face the unknown and give the unknown the chance to face him. Out through the entrance way came a young guy, built well, with a bad haircut and banana hammock trunks. He said his name was John Cena…and that he had RUTHLESS AGRESSION. The newcomer and the Olympic Gold Medalist faced off in the squared circle that night, with the young Cena making people take notice, taking Angle to the limit.
Most wrestling fans remember this debut for the future “Doctor of Thuganomics” or they have at least seen it replayed on WWE television in recent weeks. What many people forget is that Cena lost that match. Despite it being such an effective debut, John Cena’s first WWE victory did not come during that famous match with Kurt Angle, but instead two weeks later on SmackDown. The means of his victory was by disqualification. His opponent? Chris Jericho.
Since losing the Undisputed Title to Triple H at WrestleMania, Jericho had been sort of aimless. He mainly found himself teaming with Angle, attempting to regain some stroke on the SmackDown brand. It is as Angle’s partner that he crossed Cena, as he got first dibs on the newbie the week after is debut, getting the clean victory. The next week Jericho and Angle battled Cena and Undertaker in a tag team match, a match that was won by The Deadman. The next week Jericho and Cena had their aforementioned one-on-one encounter where the man that would go on to be called Super Cena by many fans experienced his first singles win.
Losing to a new guy like Cena, even if it was merely by disqualification, did not sit well with Y2J. In fact he would petition SmackDown GM Stephanie McMahon to cancel his PPV match with Edge so that he could get another crack at Cena. Bad move. This time Cena would score more than just a disqualification victory over Jericho as he’d pin Jericho’s shoulders to the mat for the clean one, two, three.
It would not be long until Jericho took advantage of the open contracts Mr. McMahon had made and switch over to Raw. Maybe it was being dropped from the title picture. Maybe it was to continue his burgeoning relationship with the UnAmericans. But maybe it was because he saw the future of SmackDown and new he couldn’t beat it. It would take a while for Cena to transform from bland rookie to white rapper midcarder to main event sensation but eventually John Cena would become the man on SmackDown. Meanwhile Jericho checked out the greener pastures on Raw.
Flash forward three years later. June 6, 2005. Monday Night Raw. This is the first night of the WWE Draft, stretched out this year over a months time as opposed to being done on one night. Chris Jericho, now a beloved fan favorite as his lovelorn falling out with Trish Stratus a year prior, has a major scoop for his latest edition of the Highlight Reel. Jericho has promised an interview with the first draft pick to come from SmackDown to Raw. He intros. He waits. We wait. Shhhhhhhhh…BRRR Abado! (And yes, thanks to the lawsuit brought forth by rappers Lil’ Fame and Billy Danze we do indeed no what that word is). John Cena, the WWE Champion, the top dog on SmackDown, a bona fide superstar and legitimate big deal was coming to Monday Nights. And who should be the first man he sees but Chris Jericho.
To be fair to Jericho he was quite cordial. He welcomed Cena to Raw and kind of stood up for him when Christian and Tomko made their way out to confront the WWE Champion. It wouldn’t be until their tag team match the next week on Raw that things got physical as Jericho would turn on Cena, perhaps still angry about that loss three years ago. Cena issues had mainly lied with Christian, but now Jericho was also in his way. In wrestling there is only one way to solve such matters: a Triple Threat Match. Cena would retain the title, but Christian would be the one to take the pin, meaning Jericho still stayed in the mix.
Jericho and Cena would meet one-on-one for the WWE Title at SummerSlam, a far cry from their midcard PPV encounter three years earlier. Battling in the nation’s capital, Washington DC, the crowd was rabidly against John Cena, the first of many crowds. These two put on a great match, with Cena even teasing the Super FU for the first time. Ultimately Cena would come away victorious but this would not be the last he would see of Jericho. The next night on Raw, General Manager Eric Bischoff was determined to get rid of John Cena once and for all (proving he really was an awful businessman). He gave Jericho one more shot at Cena’s title, but this time in a “You’re Fired Match,” hoping to take Cena’s title and his career. Unfortunately for Jericho neither happened. Cena won yet again and Y2J was taken kicking and screaming from the building by security.
It would be more than two years before Chris Jericho returned to WWE. In his absence John Cena went on to become and even bigger star, a more well rounded wrestler, and a pop culture maven. Cena was in the midst of a year plus long WWE Title reign when Jericho first started showing signs of his return. Before the two men could cross paths, though, Cena went down with a debilitating injury, vacating the WWE Title in the process. Randy Orton would rise to the occasion and become the new WWE Champion and a month later Chris Jericho made his WWE return, making his championship intentions known. He claimed that he was here to “save us” from Randy Orton, but based on the timing of his cryptic warning videos and you have to believe he was interested in “saving us” from a different WWE Champion.
Since then both Jericho and Cena have been incredibly busy. Jericho chased Orton’s WWE Title, got himself yet another Intercontinental Title reign, and engaged in an all consuming rivalry with Shawn Michaels, culminating in not one but two World Heavyweight Title victories. Cena returned from his injury eight months before anyone expected him to, won the Royal Rumble, unsuccessfully chased the WWE Championship, aimlessly feuded with JBL, engaged in a heated rivalry with Batista, and then went out with another injury.
Now Chris Jericho is World Heavyweight Champion and John Cena is set to return from neck surgery. The careers of these two men have intersected at various points over the past six years, and at Survivor Series they will cross paths once again. Things have never been bigger than this meeting, though, as career momentum, championship implications, main event prestige, and the starting point on the Road to WrestleMania will all be on the line. This is a new Chris Jericho we have seen in recent months and rest assured that there will be a new John Cena entering his hometown of Boston, Massachusetts. At Survivor Series the lights will be on bright and the next chapter in the Jericho-Cena story will be written.
The Shimmy Likes It Raw!
What’s on tap for tonight’s show?
Well that does it for this week’s column. Next week should be the return of the Hardy Report Card. Until then, don’t die. Clark…out.
